The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-06-04

every here and with fierce violence near
the swamps and along the river bottoms
DR.. Kendall, al Big Grove seven miles east
| was the nearest physician for several years
The settlers around lloldermnn Grove,
| in 1884 8, were MIR. Kellogg, MIR, Holder
man and Mr.. Hill, who kept stage tavern
and sold llauor to the Indians. Ottawa WAS
the nearest post office for time, then one
WAS established at Hills and aferward re-
moved TO Newark Postage WAS % cents u
| letter payable NJ the receivers end OF the
Journey, and # the victim Of "A letter, oiteh
mere trash, sometimes "dun" or the an
nouncemeut of the death of some loved one,
| hadn' the necessary cash aud no coon SKINS,
mussrnt hides, deers rotes, or other article
of r certain money value upon which to re.
alize the needful quarter, his letter would
have to lie on its edge in the post office win.
dow an advertisement Of his poverty and
thorn in his side. till he could redeem II,
IL was not an unusual thing 70 see some OF
the pioneers who seldom got letters, scud-
ding back home "like a hOuscatre, or ~ II
theirs was, to get n pair of chickens to pay
postage upon letter which had unexpect.
eddy turned up At the post office Preachers
were scarce and religious exercises were
fe " and far between III those dpys. \ Rev
ercnd Mr. Royal and man named Green
used to put in an appearance occasionally,
and first exhortcd and delivered moral HON
lies at Mr. Armstrong; double log cabin,
for sometime the largest structure IN that
neighborhood, until schol house was
built near MIR BARRIERS dwelling Rev. Mr
Wright is believed to have preached the first
sermon at the school house soon after 1t was
completed, and as it was the first school
house for many miles around, people came
from far and near TO be edited by prayers
and sermons.
CHoLERA's AWFUL ResuLTS.
In the summer of 1919 cholera mysteri.
ously appeared in the family Of Mr.. Sutton
Whitehead, living half "A mile west of MIR.
BARRIERS. Mr., W. took it first. His daugh
ter, Mrs Mary Ierkes, who lived in n small
house in the yard enclosing her fathers
dwelling, was also sliced by it soon after.
Each could hear the other moaning and
shrieking while in the paroxysms of cramps,
and al in ervals of ease onaulred alter eacn
other and sent atfectiOnate messages To anu
| fro, but the fell destroyer soon denied them
that comfort and both expired in the agonies
peculiar to that fearful malady, she dying a
few minutes before him. Henry Whitehead,
brother, then took it and his aged mother
also was stricken down, both dying in an
Incredibly short time. Not only this but
children of the Whitehead family, were
Frustrated and died, in all fourteen persons
old and young out of the same family died
of cholera within a very few days While
the doctor forbade Mr.. Barber's family Wis
ting the afflicted, partly for their own secu
ri,y against the epidemic, and partly be
cause the family was large and there were
always enough well grown persons in the
family to care for the sick, additional help
would be cumbersome and unnecessary. But
Mr.. and Mrs. Barbers notions of hOspliall.
ty would not permit them To refrain from
good offices for the afflicted and sick, so
every day dainies and necessaries Of life
cooked nicely. we're carried and left Mt
Whiteheads gate, the inmates not coming
whiting communicating distance, till their
kind benefactors had departed and gone a
safe distance away Mrs Jesse Abel took
sick and her illness was generally believed
TO be cholera. She thought she was dying
one evening and desired coffin procured
without delay, so that she mi ght be buried
Immediately and thus lesson the danger of
spreading the disease. Word of what was
wanted was sent 10 their next neighbor, j.
s. Armstrong, who procured coffin at
Newark, but to his surprise on reaching
home with it, found her much better, and
80 she remained three or four days and
seemed on fair way to recovery, when she
died quite suddenly, leaving it doubtful
whether her fatal illness was cholera or not.
INDIAN GRAVES
Mr.. Barber found an Indian grave on the
creek bank consisting of mound covered